Books I Read in October (#21-22)

In the month of October, I listened to two books on CD as I drove back and forth from Alabama to Tennessee. Daniel has subscribed to a monthly CD book club and we have been listening to books independently on our drives. It is nice to be listening to some of the same works as we can discuss them when we are together.

My first book on CD for the month was Outliers by Malcomb Gladwell. I actually read this book years ago and it is my second favorite book by Gladwell – the first being Blink. On this second reading, I realized that there are a lot of things about my own life that make me an outlier. It is fascinating to me to hear different stories that support Gladwell's ideas of what makes an outlier. 

The things that stuck with me the most from my previous reading and my more recent reading are 1) It takes 10,000 hours of practice for anyone to become great at something; 2) Other factors/lucky breaks separate the good from the best; and 3) something as random as when you were born could determine your outcome in this life. As always, I enjoyed all of his stories from The Beatles to Bill Gates. I find it all to be fascinating food for thought. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The second book I listened to this month was EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. First off, it was interesting and odd to read this book since I had the opportunity to interview for Dave Ramsey's company several years ago. Listening to him talk about how to get hired was a bit of an ego check for me. Afterall I only had one interview with his company and according to this book it is a 15-step process. However, once I got over the fact that things didn't work out for me, I discovered that this book teaches some wonderful principles; many of which can be applied to relationships like marriage or parenting. 

As I listened, I also found myself identifying with the fact that many of the places I have had the opportunity to work didn't apply these same principles and in hindsight I have a better understanding of why my working experience always seemed to be lacking. 

I currently work part-time from home and I really enjoy what I do. I hope that one day I can rejoin the workforce and work in an environment that treats their employees the way that Dave Ramsey purports to treat his. 

I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to become a better leader at their current company; or anyone who just wants to grow their small business.

I liked that both of these books on CDs were read by their authors.